Nation’s Leader In Steals On A Lost ND Baseball Season, Returning In 2021
When Notre Dame baseball’s season abruptly ended in the middle of March, center fielder Spencer Myers returned to his family’s home in the Tampa, Fla. After an 11-2 start to a season that was cut short, he was desperate to get back to work.
At first, he found some solace in training at Palma Ceia Little League close to his house. Myers would bring his father or meet with an old high school coach there. They would pitch and he hit in the cage, but that quickly changed when a security vehicle showed up one afternoon.
“We actually got kicked out about 20 minutes in,” Myers said. “Someone said we weren’t allowed to be there. So that’s just the way it is. They’ve got to take precautions.”
He was experiencing what so many college and professional athletes are dealing with: no place to work out.
Now he is also without a summer league.
Myers was committed to playing in the prestigious Cape Code League with the Wareham Gatemen, but over the weekend the entire 2020 season was canceled and now Myers will miss out on a major opportunity to develop and get in front of Major League Baseball scouts — one of many obstacles he must overcome as his career continues.
Historic Season Cut Short
After sitting out most of fall workouts due to an injury, new Notre Dame baseball head coach Link Jarrett was not sure what to expect from Myers in 2020. He was an enigma.
Even after missing all that time, Myers quickly proved once the season began that he was one of the team’s most essential and productive players. He led the team in hitting with a .431 average, which tied for the 31st best average in college baseball.
But where Myers truly shined in on the base paths.
“I've coached a lot of exceptional players speed-wise, base running-wise, but his instincts are as good as anybody I’ve ever coached,” Jarrett said. “He has just a tremendous feel for what he’s doing.”
In addition to having the highest batting average, Myers also leads the team and the nation in stolen bases per game, and he finished the season as the only Division I player to average more than one stolen base with 1.25 per contest (the next closest was Western Michigan catcher Connor Charping with 0.83 stolen bases per game).
This is after Myers led the team in stolen bases in 2019 with 28, the highest total by a Fighting Irish player since A.J. Pollock (now on the Los Angeles Dodgers) also had 28 in 2008.
He had a total of 15 stolen bases in 12 games, but he acknowledges some of his success was because he was able to pad his stats against non-ACC opponents early in the season.
For instance, Myers had six stolen bases in a game against Presbyterian, a single-game stat that also led the nation.
“That’s a skill set of mine: my speed,” Myers said. “I was just trying to take advantage of it early in the year when we were playing slightly less competitive teams to get my numbers up a little bit before ACC play because it definitely gets a lot harder ones we’re playing in conference.
“That was something I was working on in the winter leading up to the season and it paid off in the first 13 games.”
The good news is that Myers has shown he can be one of the best players in college baseball even without a full offseason, but it is impossible to ignore how disappointing it is that such a historic start to 2020 was cut short.
What Will 2021 Bring?
Almost the entire team should be back next season and have an opportunity to build off their 11-2 start in 2020, albeit a year later.
The biggest question marks right now are first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed relief pitcher Joe Boyle, both juniors that could decide to turn pro.
It has yet to be determined how many rounds will be included in the 2020 MLB Draft will be, but the popular sentiment is somewhere in the range of five to 10. In an ordinary year, there are 40 rounds.
Could either Boyle or Kavadas be picked in a shortened draft, and if they are would they forgo their senior seasons? Unlike other sports, baseball players can be drafted without losing their eligibility.
“They’re high profile prospects,” Myers said. “They have been since they got to school — Joe’s arm and Niko’s power. With [possibly] only five rounds, it’s very competitive. I think both of them are capable of getting an offer, but we'll see what they decide because we're going to get the year back.”
If the season and continued and there were going to be a normal MLB Draft, Myers also would have considered the option of turning professional after his junior season, but even after his excellent start to 2020 he doesn’t see that as a possibility this year.
“It’s always been a dream,” Myers said. “I know I would have had to play really well this season to give myself a chance. I was doing a good job. If the season would have continued, I just would've had to keep it up. Finished strong and I think I would have a chance. But it definitely wasn't the first thought in my mind and you should never let that be the first thought.
“I feel like you can put too much pressure on yourself. You have to stay focused on the team, the season and all those external thoughts, they’ll work themselves out.”
Assuming a significant portion of the team does return in 2021, Notre Dame baseball could have a special season in 2021, especially with players such as Myers on the roster who have already proven they can be one of the most productive center fielders in college baseball.
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